Signal routers, also known as non-blocking routers, are used to switch signals on any one or more input channels to one or more output channels. Typically, such signal routers have a matrix of cross-point switches for selectively connecting the input channels with the output channels. In some signal routers these cross-point switches are configured manually.
Some routing switchers use computer or processor controlled switching functions in which software generates control signals for operation of the cross-point switches in response to the selection of source and destination.
Most of the source and destination devices connected to routers have multiple signals, thus a video camera can may have four video channels and left and right audio channels, and a VCR may have a video channel and two audio channels. Conventionally, routing switches have been provided in broadcasting stations to control switching of input/output routes for signals. After video signals and audio signals from signal sources have been fetched through arbitrary input lines, they are provided to respective receiving units on the editor side through specified arbitrary output lines, such that editing operations on the video signals and the audio signals are performed in the respective receiving units.
More specifically, the routing switch is a matrix-shaped input/output switching apparatus, formed of a collection of cross-points, at which input lines and output lines intersect with each other, in order to deliver external video signals and audio signals from arbitrary input lines to arbitrary output lines. By setting an input line for each column in the matrix and setting an output line for each row, an input signal on a specified input line is provided from the specified output line through a specified cross-point.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a routing switcher 100 has input lines I1-In 110 on the IN side and output lines O1-Om 120 on the OUT side are arranged in a matrix form, such that signals are provided from specified input lines to specified output lines through cross-points 130 at which the input lines I1-In and the output lines O1-Om intersect with each other.
Also, the routing switcher is capable of providing a signal from a single output line or up to m output lines arbitrarily selected from the plurality of output lines O1-Om, thus providing a versatility which enables arbitrary signals to be output simultaneously from all of the output lines O1-Om or only from specified predetermined output lines.
A wide range of signal processing functions are typically applied to signals on transmission and receipt. Traditionally, any signal processing is handled outside of the routing switcher. For example if a signal required noise reduction, the routing switcher would be configured to receive the signal at an input port and transmit the signal at a output port connected to a signal processor for noise reduction. The signal processor would then provide the processed signal to another input port which would be connected to another output port associated with the signal's destination.
Other signal processing configurations are serial to the destination devices, such that if a signal required noise reduction, the signal processor would be serially aligned with the signal's destination. For example, a signal would be received at an input port connected to an output port associated with the destination and would be operated on by a dedicated signal processing device outside of the routing switch before directly arriving at the destination device.
There are many disadvantages associated with signal processing outside of the routing switcher in the scenarios described above. For example, multiple inputs and outputs are occupied for a signal needing processors, and each must be configured. Additionally, where serial processing is used, the processing device resources cannot be shared or reallocated to other inputs not sharing the same destination device.
In order to obviate the deficiencies of the prior art, it is an object of the present subject matter to present a media routing switch with integrated signal processing. The routing switch includes a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs connected by a cross-point matrix. The routing switch also includes a central processing unit connected to the cross-point matrix and dynamically coupled between one or more of the inputs and one or more of outputs. The central processor receives a first signal from an input via the cross-point matrix and perform one of at least two signal processing functions on the received signal and outputs a processed signal.
It is also an object of the present subject matter to present a method of routing audio visual signals. The method includes dynamically assigning a plurality of inputs to a plurality of outputs and to one or more central processing unit inputs, and dynamically assigning one or more central processing unit outputs to the one or more of the plurality of outputs. The method further includes dynamically selecting one of at least two processing functions; and processing a signal associated with the one or more central processing unit inputs with the selected processing function and outputting the processed signal at the one or more central processing unit outputs.
These objects and others obviate the deficiencies of the prior art by placing various soft signal processing within the router to enable flexible solutions.
These objects and other advantages of the disclosed subject matter will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.